Today, he tells us about himself, the series and what else he's been up to.

For the first time readers, please tell us
about you and your writing.

I’m Michael J. Ward
and I had the mad idea of meshing my love of computer RPGs with the traditional
gamebook, and came up with DestinyQuest. Currently there are three titles in
the series – The Legion of Shadow, The Heart of Fire, and The Eye of Winter’s Fury. You can find
out more about the series and how to play at the official site: www.destiny-quest.com

Destiny Quest has been translated into German.
How is it doing? Any more languages for Destiny Quest?

The first book has now
been translated into French, Spanish and German – with the German translation
being the most recent and successful. My German publisher, Mantikore, who also
publish the translations of the Lone Wolf series, has now also taken on the
second book to translate. I’m not sure what the release date of that will be,
but likely to be end of this year or beginning of the next. I’ve been invited
to Germany in August to attend my publisher’s self-run convention, where I will
be meeting fans and signing books – so I’m sure that will be a lot of fun!

There's a very active DestinyQuest community.
Have they influenced any future plans for the series?

It’s
always hard to gauge the exact size of a fan community, but I am certainly
flattered by those passionate members who continue to engage with the forums or
initiate their own DQ projects, such as the recent YouTube series, PageFlippers
by Victory Condition Gaming. I wouldn’t say the community has necessarily
influenced any plans, but I am conscious that a Book Four is sorely needed and
I do feel peoples’ frustration that I can’t provide that at the present time.

After book 3, the series was discontinued, but
you have hinted that there still might be a book 4. Is there anything else you
can talk about now?

I do really want to do
a Book Four and, while I can’t really say too much at this time, there is a
company very interested in taking on Heart of Fire and Winter’s Fury to develop
as apps, and also continue the series with more adventures. Things were close
to getting signed at the end of last year, but sadly there were complications
with funding and clashes with other projects, so while I am assured there is
still a very positive chance it will all be happening, I don’t have a timeline
to share at the present time. If it does go ahead, then it would offer a
fantastic future for the DQ series.

Have you started planning a Book Four and can
you share any of your new ideas with us?

I
have a very rough plot sketched out and an idea of the maps that would make up
the two zones. Book Four has a desert theme, as I think many have guessed, and
would bring in a lot of characters that will be familiar to fans of the
previous books. I’ve also planned up the careers – and taken a different
approach to developing the abilities in the game. In Book Four there will be
much more focus on specific build-types, so each path (warrior, mage, rogue)
will have two different builds that readers can specialize in – so, choosing
abilities that really mesh well together and are focused around a single
concept.

To
give two examples, one of the warrior builds is built around the damage you
have taken and the damage inflicted to opponents. It plays very much as a
berserker, where you want to be potentially stacking abilities that trigger
when your health is at a certain point. On the other side of the coin is the
full on tank build, which uses your armour value to do interesting effects and
combos. Players can choose to mix and match from the warrior ability pool as
they gain items, or they can choose those abilities that focus them in one of
those two directions. I think it brings a lot more synergy to the abilities and
gives readers a more rewarding journey in upgrading and customizing their
characters. Like the warrior, the other paths (rogue and mage) offer builds that
are really very different in tone, using new mechanics to make each
unique.

Someone's being playing your books on Youtube.
How are they doing? Is it fun to watch such a detailed read through of one of
your books?

Yes,
Victory Condition Gaming have been running a playthrough of the first book. It
was very flattering to have been approached for the series and it’s been great
fun watching Doug and his daughter, Sydney, battle their way through the hordes
of monsters. At times it has been nerve-wracking to watch, as I know the first
book is the toughest of the three, so I am always on the edge of my seat,
worried whether they will get mired in a tough combat that makes them rage quit
in anger (!), but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by their progress and their
choices – so that has been a huge relief to me! The community have also been incredibly
supportive in offering advice and feedback on the rules, so the videos have
provided a good learning tool for those who might be new to the series. You can
check out the series here: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyswa3tbWAlQDc5DtouD6yeORVVvFiZsx

DestinyQuest was inspired by your love of
gaming. What games are you currently playing – both computer and table-top?

I’m
currently playing through Dark Souls 3 which, as fans of the series will know,
is a punishingly hard experience designed to make you fling your controller
across the room, but I really enjoy that challenge and exploring the stunningly
crafted world created by From Software. Incidentally, there is a board game
conversion currently on Kickstarter, which I urge people to check out and
support. It’s quite pricey, but you get a ton of great miniatures and extras.

Talking
of kickstarters, I recently backed Zombicide: Black Plague and Arcadia Quest:
Inferno. In the last few years I have really rediscovered my love of table-top
gaming. There are some really innovative ideas going on in the board game scene
right now, more so than I would say computer gaming, so I am always on the
look-out for cool new games to pick up. The only problem is storage space –
particularly if you go in on a kickstarter and end up with about a gadzillion
boxes of extras! Think I may need to build an extension!

Have you ever thought about designing a
DestinyQuest board game?

I’ve
been playing around with a design for a DQ card game. This is going to sound
quite odd I know, but I actually dreamt the game (!). When I woke up I was
like, wow that was a really good idea – grabbed my notepad and got scribbling.
I’ve not really pursued it as much as I would like, but when I do get a rare
moment of inspiration, I’ll add to my pool of ideas. I think it could be
something quite cool, but not really sure how I would take it any further
really.

Last year, you were also working on some
novels. How are they doing?

Slowly,
is the word I would use! Most of my time of late has been taken up with
freelance writing and editing, to pay the bills and keep my head above water,
so I really haven’t had much ‘head-space’ to get back into the writing. I do
have two books on the go at the moment (not sure if that is really the most
productive approach to getting a book finished!), and while I am making
progress, it is very slow. But then, I don’t feel too much pressure to get
something out – I’d rather take my time and make sure that what I end up with
is something I am proud of and would make a publisher say ‘yes!’.

What do you have planned for next year?

Gosh, I don’t even
have plans for the rest of this year so hard to think that far ahead! I guess
my future hope is that the Book Four deal comes to fruition because there is
nothing else I would rather be doing right now than more DestinyQuest. I would
love to return to that world and share more of the story. It feels annoyingly
unfinished, with story threads still dangling all over the place, so I don’t
think I could find any kind of peace or satisfaction until the series was
completed. I have faith, so we’ll see what happens!